By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With a tremendous second quarter (21-10), Panathinaikos easily prevailed over Zielona Gora 82-51 and secured their qualification to the next phase. This was the fifth win for the hosts (5-4), who will now fight with Zalgiris Kaunas for the third place in group C, whereas the visitors suffered their seventh defeat (2-7) and were eliminated.
For the winners, Nick Calathes had 18 points, five rebounds and seven assists, with James Gist adding 14 points and six boards. On the other hand, Mateusz Ponitka had 11 points and five rebounds for the losing squad.
In the first quarter, the match was close, as no team could take a significant advantage (8-7, 18-17), with Panathinaikos being in front by just three points (26-23), after 10 minutes in the game. Later, though, things changed. The Greens enhanced their performance on both ends of the floor and steadily extended their lead, as they outscored their opponents 21-10. Consequently, they closed the first half with a 14-point advantage (47-33).
In the second half, the situation remained the same with Sasa Djordjevic’s team having complete control of the game and easily retaining its double-digit lead (52-35, 59-38). The third quarter ended with a 20-point advantage for Panathinaikos, as the visitors couldn’t find decent solutions both defensively and offensively (67-47). In the last quarter, the Greeks continued to play very well offensively and claimed an easy victory (82-51), as they now have their sights set on next week’s game against Zalgiris in Kaunas, which will determine whether they will finish third or fourth in the group.